JACKSONVILLE, Florida–Two early goals by Trinity Baptist College took the wind out of the Eagles sails early in the NCCAA South Region Championship. Jake McClelland scored in the second half, but the Eagles were unable to mount a comeback on the road in today's 3-1 losing effort to Trinity Baptist College.
Jake McClelland scored the lone goal for the Eagles in today's rematch of last year's South Region Championship. Nick Standridge played all 90 minutes for the Eagles and goalie Brent Konieczynksi recorded 9 saves.
The score remained tied at 0-0 throughout the first 15 minutes of the game, but Trinity Baptist struck first in the 14th minute, making it 1-0. The Eagles, still reeling from the first goal of the game, saw disaster strike just 2 minutes later. A ball sent into the box was put in by an Eagles defender for an own goal to make the score 2-0.
The play of the game slowed down following the own goal. The two teams would trade shots over the next 24 minutes, but neither team was able to find the back of the net. That changed in the 38th minute when Jake McClelland netted a goal to bring the score back to within one goal. The remaining minutes ticked away and the two teams headed to the half with the score tied at one.
In the 2nd half, the Eagles would go on to miss several close opportunities in the opening minutes of the period. With Trinity Baptist College still leading by one goal, Joseph Nava put in his second of the game. This goal proved to be the nail in the Eagles' coffin. The two teams battled throughout the remainder of the 2nd half, but Trinity Baptist College was able to hold on to secure the South Region crown with a 3-1 result.
"We had a couple critical defensive errors that cost us the game." Head Coach Joseph Liwosz said after the game, "We had some very strong moments of play but we failed to finish some big offensive chances. I'm very proud of the compsure and the heart that the guys showed today."
The loss dropped the Eagles to 4-14-1 and put the team in limbo as they await a possible at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament on November 14-17 in Greenville, SC. The team will await the decision from the national men's soccer committee that will be forthcoming in the next couple days.
